walking in the light of God's Word

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A Journey Through Psalm 119: Teacher

Psalm 119:33-40
HE.
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

Now comes a desire from the psalmist to solidify the Word of God in his life by the power of the Author and Speaker of the Word. And he recognizes that it is God who must be the teacher, and he must be the student. God gives the instruction, and we keep it. And He gives us understanding and a deeper wisdom of what it means so we can fully obey with everything in us. He who gave us the Word makes it real to us where it moves beyond thoughts and ideas on a page and becomes a truth vital to us.

But it’s also a kind of hands-on leading by God. He sets the boundaries and the limits. He gives a clear path to follow. He shows us the steps to take so we can follow His Word when it is truly our desire to do so. He pulls our hearts toward His right ways and away from wrong ones. His Spirit tugs on us to get us to lean in the right direction. And He helps us to keep our focus in the right place so we are not distracted by meaningless things, often giving us reminders to keep looking to Him.

And in this process, God establishes His Word in our lives and makes it mean something personally to us, something that keeps us surrendered to Him. And our openness and willingness to seek God and His truth causes Him to respond by pouring His wisdom into our lives, filling us with it so it can do its work in us. We receive what He gives us and allow it to affect all parts of our lives. May God’s Word be something that is built up in each of us that forms the foundation for our whole lives. And may that spring from a longing for God and His truth and a desire for the way of righteousness that pleases God.